LatamChequea, the Latin American network of fact-checkers, was founded in 2014 as an alliance of fact-checking outlets and currently brings together dozens of media organizations across the region. The network, which initially had a journalistic focus, has since expanded to include other priorities such as developing civic innovation, promoting media literacy, discussing regulations on disinformation, and rethinking the sustainability of organizations in the region. Nevertheless, fact-checking and journalism remain among the network’s primary focuses.
What We Do
Year after year, the network’s partners conduct thousands of fact-checks on false content circulating on social media, verify statements made by politicians and leaders from various countries, publish explanatory pieces with verified information to help audiences better understand complex issues, and release investigations on disinformation and other political or social topics.
In addition, the network coordinates the publication of various reports on disinformation in the region, such as reports on major disinformation trends in the region.
Journalistic Projects
Furthermore, the network regularly coordinates various journalistic investigations and collaborative projects, in addition to the numerous journalistic collaborations that arise among some of the partners on specific issues within their countries. For example, this special report on the most widely circulated disinformation regarding comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in the region.
Since 2021, we have been publishing a series of investigations called “Los Desinformantes” (The Disinformers), focusing on various actors who have systematically spread disinformation in the region. It began during the pandemic, so initially the focus was on the coronavirus, but we later expanded to include other topics such as scams, conspiracy theories, false cures for diseases, and the financing of disinformation, among others.
In the context of the 2020 pandemic, we developed LatamChequea Coronavirus, a database containing all the fact-checks that debunked disinformation related to the pandemic. In 2021, we also created LatamChequea Vaccines, another database aimed at countering disinformation circulating about COVID-19 vaccines, where we also produced audiovisual content to share on social media. In both cases, we received support from the Google News Initiative.
As part of the LatamChequea Vaccines project, we also worked with influencers in various countries to reach young people, created dedicated WhatsApp channels so that older adults could message us, and produced podcasts in different indigenous languages that were later broadcast on community radio stations to provide indigenous communities with fact-checks and quality information.
